ONE poor mum has had to PROVE her daughter has cancer to get her time off school.

Cherie Gillion is suffering a fate no-one would wish for: her daughter, five-year-old Lilly is suffering with cancer.

Lilly - real name Leah - has had a rare tumour for the last three and a half years and has had to miss classes at Warren Farm Primary School, Birmingham, to attend hospital appointments and two surgeries.

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The youngster only attended 67 per cent of her classes last year due to her illness, but her parents claim the school has insisted she is well enough to do more.

Cherie, 29, and Graham, 38, have claimed the school sent a letter home stating that they would no longer authorise absence for Lilly to miss lessons unless they provided medical proof of Lilly's incurable cancer.

Young Lilly's really been through the wars too, undergoing proton beam therapy in the United States and surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital to remove the deadly tumour four years ago.

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Cherie was taken aback when the school wrote to her about Lilly's condition

Despite this, her parents have been told by doctors their daughter's rare form of cancer means the fluid in her brain could cause deadly tumours to grow again at any moment.

Doctors need to keep checking on Lilly's condition, which means she has to go to the hospital every three months for an MRI scan to check the tumour has not returned.

Speaking about the situation, mum-of-three Cherie said: "This was a situation they knew about when Lilly first started school and to turn around and say they don't believe that she has cancer is laughable.

"As parents it is the worst thing to go through, trying to help your daughter and it is a kick in the teeth to know that people don't believe just how sick Lilly is.

"My only goal is to keep my daughter safe and healthy."

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The five-year-old is suffering with incurable cancer

She added: "I'm put in a position where I feel like a bad mother when I am doing everything in my power to help them.

"The school told me that I have failed my child.

"Of course we could get medical proof of Lilly's condition in an instant, but the school already know about her condition.

"Lilly even came into school last year and had to show the other children her central line and the school are in constant contact with her nurse, so I have no idea how they could say they know nothing about it."

Lilly's father Graham added: "The school have claimed that Lilly doesn't have a brain tumour and there is nothing wrong with her, that her absence was only down to us.

"Lilly needs time off for hospital appointments and has already had to have three days off in the past two weeks.

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Doctors need to keep checking on Lilly's condition, which means she's missed a lot of school

"I was disgusted that the school could say that."

He added: "Lilly is shortly to have her three-monthly MRI scan to check if the tumour has come back - we live our lives three months at a time."

A school spokesperson said: "Whilst mindful of the severe health issues Leah has faced in the past, we dispute the family's version of events.

"Despite her frequent hospital appointments which are taken into account, we have independent medical advice that clearly states Leah is considered tumour-free.

"As a school we are only doing the responsible thing by reminding the family of their obligations."